Swordplay
by TheJaguar
Summary: A story in three parts about Pearl, Peridot, and swordfighting. [AU in which Peridot is a Crystal Gem.]
1. i demo

Everything in this world had its place. Peridot knew hers very well. She was a technician and a servant. All peridots were. She was skilled with technology, and while she had a basic knowledge of gem weaponry, she wasn't given one. Why would she? She wasn't built for fighting. She was built for building other gems.

Fiddling with the workings of an old machine that Steven called a 'walkie-talkie,' which sounded like a miserably juvenile name, Peridot heard the familiar sound of ballet slippers tapping against the hardwood floor. "Evening, Pearl," Peridot called from the couch.

"Hello, Peridot," Pearl responded. The two gems didn't exactly trust each other, but they were similar enough that they could be cordial. Additionally, Peridot had been consistently been providing information and assistance in taking down Yellow Diamond after the real purpose of the Cluster was discovered. "What've you got there?"

"Walkie-talkie. Stupid name, but a potentially useful machine for undercover missions. I'm trying to see how it works." She tossed the brown rectangle in her prosthetic fingers effortlessly, most of the hardware being removed from the casing already. "It's bulky as it is. If I can figure out what makes it work, I can probably build smaller, sleeker ones that can be hidden more easily."

Pearl nodded politely from across the room. "Good idea. I'd love to stay and chat," she interrupted herself, indicating that she really didn't love the idea, "but I need to go train. With Connie in school, I haven't had much time to practice my swordfighting."

Peridot looked up, quizzically raising an eyebrow. "You swordfight?"

"Yes, actually!"

Peridot tilted her head to the side, thoroughly confused. She set the walkie-talkie down on the coffee table with the pieces she'd taken out earlier. "But, pearls don't - I mean, they're not supposed to..."

"We're servants," Pearl replied dryly. "I get that. But Rose Quartz taught me that classifying a gem's abilities and worth based solely on how they were made - It's just wrong, Peridot, and I'm not going to allow myself to be weak. I won't." She coughed, calming herself back down from a moment of anger. "In any case, I learned how to summon swords and spears from my gem, and taught myself to fight with those."

"I've... never heard of such a thing." Peridot tried not to scoff and failed. The very idea was laughable. This tiny, sticklike thing? Fighting in a real battle? There was no way she could fight her way out of a paper bag, let alone hundreds of armed military gems.

Pearl cocked an eyebrow. "Are you accusing me of lying?" Her expression was much more unpleasant than her tone. Had Peridot not been looking, she might have thought that Pearl was simply being naive. Her face, however, came with an entirely different message. "Underestimate me. I dare you."

Peridot accepted the challenge. "Not necessarily. But, you must look at this from _my_ perspective," she added with a sly grin. "I've never seen you with a sword in battle, only your spear. So, it's not that I think you're _lying_ , exactly. I just don't have proof." Peridot clacked her metallic palms together, letting her soft fingers play across each other gleefully. "Now, if you could, perhaps, _show_ me this skill.. Then, I might believe you."

Pearl seemed hesitant. She locked her fingers together, examining her nails for just a moment. "Well... I suppose it couldn't hurt if you were to watch." She looked back up. "All right. Come follow me."

Peridot rose from her seat slowly, taking her sweet time. She cracked a few bones in her back with loud, sickening pops. The tools and walkie-talkie fell to the wayside. She could only hope that Amethyst wouldn't eat all her hard work, but even if she did, it wasn't too much of a loss. Earth technology was still pretty archaic. Slowly, she moved forward, following Pearl to the warp pad.

"Brace yourself," Pearl said, but before the sentence had even finished exiting her mouth, Peridot was swept up in the shift in gravity, dangling in midair like a fish caught by its tail. She yelped in terror, trying to "swim" back down. She landed when the two had reached the Sky Arena, flat on her face.

"Ow," she grumbled, rubbing her nose to make sure it hadn't broken.

"You'll get used to that," Pearl told her, walking towards the middle of the arena. Peridot rose to her feet, waiting by the sidelines. This was getting... exciting! She knew that pearls were essentially peridots that were thousands of years old... maybe she could learn a thing or two herself.

"Now, observe."

Peridot bit her lip in anticipation as Pearl drew a white sword from her gem. It was a beam of light that seemed to have been compressed so tightly that it maintained physical form. She made a mental note of that - it could be a useful technique. Pearl then summoned what appeared to be a silvery-blue clone of herself from her gem, bathed in a similar light to the sword. The bright red eyes of the clone were a clever addition, making it easier to track its movements and follow its face.

"That's ancient gem tech!" Peridot couldn't help but exclaim. She had only ever heard brief mentions of Holo-Pearls in passing, and had never seen one before. "Cool..."

A slight smirk crossed Pearl's face. "I'm not _that_ old, Peridot."

"Challenger detected!" the Holo-Pearl exclaimed. "Do you wish to engage in combat?" It created its own silvery sword from its gem, drawing it.

Pearl turned to face Holo-Pearl. "I do."

"Challenge accepted! Battle, begin!"

The Holo-Pearl charged at Pearl, instantly aiming for her stomach. Pearl leapt into the air, twisting in such a way that her upper body was still facing the Holo-Pearl. She raised her sword to strike Holo-Pearl's face, but Holo-Pearl parried. Pearl used the momentum to land behind the hologram, thrusting at its back.

Peridot watched the two fight, entranced. The gem technology was impressive, to be sure. Much of modern gem tech was geared towards data collection and weaponry. This - this was something unlike any she had seen. But soon, Peridot found herself tracking not the silver blade of the Holo-Pearl, but the white sword. Pearl was a good fighter. A _really_ good fighter. Every move was so tactical and precise, like she had practiced them a thousand times. She probably had.

And the way she moved... What graceful strides, what powerful, effortless jumps... There was a word to describe it all, but Peridot was lost. She simply stared as Pearl moved. She looked to be dancing in combat, twisting in just the right way every time she moved. It was hypnotic to watch her. There was something to watching someone who had fought against you in the past from a distance. From the sidelines, Peridot suddenly found herself remembering some of the techniques Pearl had used against her in combat and appreciating them. She was skilled.

As the Holo-Pearl jumped into the air, intending to take Pearl down with an aerial strike, Pearl took an opening that Peridot had not seen. Quickly, she rushed underneath the Holo-Pearl. Peridot flinched at first - was the gem intending to run straight into the hologram's blade? But instead, Pearl lifted her sword, catching it just under the projection's neck. With one long, powerful stroke of her arm, Pearl used the momentum of the Holo-Pearl's fall to drag the blade down to its pelvis.

While an ordinary opponent would have spilled their guts from such a brutal move, the Holo-Pearl simply glitched in mid-air. "Challenger wins!" it exclaimed before being summoned back into Pearl's gem.

Pearl bowed at the empty air, dropping her sword to the ground, before turning to face Peridot. "Well?"

Peridot felt stars in her eyes, rushing over to Pearl without a second thought. "That was _awesome_!" she exclaimed. Her body tingled all over with excitement. "I can't believe you can do all that! You're amazing!"

Pearl flushed a light teal, looking to her left. "Oh, that's nothing, really. Honestly, I thought you would have been bored, since that gem technology is so old."

"But it's nothing I've ever seen before! We don't make stuff like that anymore on Homeworld! Oh, you have to tell me more about it, please!" A goofy grin broke across her face as she continued talking, her head buzzing. "And you should teach me to fight like you, too! I don't have a weapon anymore, and I want to be useful! I can probably learn with just a regular sword from the humans or something, right? It didn't seem like you were doing anything special with yours - I mean, the way you _use_ it is special, but in terms of extraneous abilities, I mean."

Pearl blinked. "Well, aren't you eager?" The corner of her mouth was upturned in a surprised smile.

Peridot flushed. She had come on pretty strong, hadn't she? "If... if that's not a problem, of course. You have things to do, I understand."

"It's not a problem at all," Pearl replied, touching Peridot's shoulder. The touch made her quiver inexplicably. "We'll start training tomorrow. For now, we can get back home and I'll tell you everything I know about Holo-Pearl. How does that sound?"

Peridot simply nodded. "You're... you're very elegant out there, you know." It had come out sputtered and awkward, like a thought that demanded to be spoken but maybe shouldn't have been. Peridot turned dark green and hid her mouth with her hand, looking away slightly.

Pearl raised her eyebrow and had an odd expression on her face that Peridot couldn't name, though it didn't seem that she was upset. "Thank you, Peridot. That's very kind of you to say."

The gem picked up her sword and turned it back into loose light to call it back to her gem, and Peridot felt hot and tingly all over. She wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but she couldn't say she minded.

Must have just been excited to hear about Holo-Pearl. That was the only logical explanation. Of course.


	2. ii training

Pearl was used to training those who really shouldn't have known any better. Steven and Connie were both very young, and she'd had a hand in helping some other young rebels learn to fight during the gem war. But those were gems who really shouldn't have been picking up a sword at all. She'd read a book once that described a young boy holding a weapon. The narrator had said that he looked as though he should still have been at his mother's breast. It was an exaggeration, of course. Pearl knew that. But had gems nursed their young the way humans did, she might have called those young charges as belonging at their mothers' breasts, too.

Peridot, on the other hand, was a grown gem who _really_ should have known better, and this was a disaster.

The two gems had been practicing their swordfighting for about a week now. Peridot was still unable to compress her gem light to make a decent sword, and was using one of the many practice swords that Connie and Steven used. It was a bit too short for her arms, making her strokes awkward. Pearl kept intending to get her one that actually fit her arm movements, but it appeared that purchasing weapons was more difficult now than just a few short hundred years ago. But that wasn't even the main problem.

The real problem was that Peridot was constantly distracted. "Eyes on me, Peridot!" Pearl kept saying. Her sword that she conjured for the purpose of tutoring was blunted all around, not just at the tip. At first, it had just been an overly cautious safety measure, not wanting to hurt Steven or Connie in any way. But for training Peridot, it became a necessity. Peridot would consistently slip or stumble, accidentally falling into Pearl's blows.

Pearl was trying to be patient. It had only been a week, after all, and one couldn't expect a huge amount of progress in that time. But still, something told her that there was something about this that Peridot just wasn't getting. She would either swing too hard and fall forward, or too light, leaving an easy opening for Pearl to thrust at.

This session appeared to be no different from the others. Pearl and Peridot were practicing the basic parry and thrust, Peal constantly correcting Peridot on her stance. "Too narrow! You can't balance that way! Eyes up, Peridot! Shoulders back, wide stance!"

The swords met once, making a mighty clashing sound. Peridot flinched, and Pearl took her opening, not wanting to play games anymore. She slipped her foot underneath Peridot's, tripping her. Peridot fell face-first with a yelp while Pearl whipped around, stepping on Peridot's back. She aimed her practice sword at the back of Peridot's neck, resting the tip just under her hairline.

"And you're dead." It was clipped and final. Pearl was trying, trying, _trying_ to maintain composure.

Peridot whimpered, struggling under Pearl's surprisingly sturdy hold. "Can we try again?"

"There's no point in trying again if you're not paying attention," Pearl said, stepping down off of Peridot's back. As Peridot rolled over so that she could face Pearl, Pearl continued. "I'm trying to be patient with you, Peridot. I know that you don't have a proper weapon. I know that you weren't trained to or built to fight. But the thing that's bothering me is that you're making it clear to me that you're not _listening_ to my instructions."

"I am!" Peridot insisted, scrambling to her feet and hastily grabbing her sword. "I am listening! Can we _please_ try again? I'll be better this time, you'll see."

Pearl sighed, rubbing her temples gently with her free hand, her own sword hanging limply at her side. "Let's take a break from sparring for a while. Show me your stance again."

Peridot nodded. She actually nailed her stance. Wide feet, open but protected posture, straight shoulders, eyes fixed right on her opponent.

"Very good. Now, practice a few strokes."

Peridot nodded, doing as she was told. Her movements were choppy and still too shallow. Pearl grimaced.

"Put your whole body into it, Peridot. This isn't a flick of the wrist, it's a huge arc created by your entire body."

Peridot at least tried. Her strokes this time were wider, but Pearl could see that she was losing her balance. She walked directly behind Peridot and held her hips firmly in place. The touch seemed to elicit a small squeak from the green gem, but Pearl ignored it.

"You have to weigh yourself down into the earth," Pearl instructed. "A wide stroke will be the death of you if you fall in the middle of it."

"You can strike when you fall," Peridot commented.

"Yes, because I've had thousands of years of practice. You started last week. Now, I'm going to hold you in this position. Try making more wide strokes and see how it feels."

Peridot's wide, round hips squirmed beneath Pearl's hands as she did so, but Pearl held her firmly in place. She could hear from Peridot's metal feet that she wasn't skidding in place anymore, but she needed to hear from Peridot's mouth that a difference was being made before they could continue. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling, anyway.

"It's definitely easier this way," Peridot mumbled. Pearl tried not to make a sound of displeasure, but she could hear in Peridot's voice that she was distracted yet again.

"Are you even paying attention?" she snapped.

Peridot's shoulders twitched, indicating that she had been brought back to earth. Pearl sighed. She instantly let go of Peridot and turned to face her, lowering Peridot's sword with one finger.

"If you're not putting one hundred percent of yourself into this," Pearl said slowly and deliberately, "then we're not going to waste our time here. I have things I need to be doing for Steven and Connie, as well as missions the other gems are on. I'm sacrificing my time for that to be here to train you, do you understand that?"

Peridot visibly recoiled, her shoulders collapsing into a nervous slouch as she brought her arms closer to her body. "Y-yes."

Pearl had nearly had it. With an exasperated sigh, she simply said, "We're done for today." Dissapating her sword, she walked back to the warp pad and activated it for home. She didn't wait for Peridot to follow her.

* * *

Night fell before Peridot had returned. A thin coat of sweat was visible on her face and she was panting heavily. Pearl was busy ushering Steven off to bed when she arrived. Not that Steven needed the help, since he had just turned ten and was more than capable of taking care of himself at night, but she needed to be kept busy.

"Hey. Peridot!" Steven called from the loft, waving one of his oversized pajama sleeves at the green gem. She simply looked up and gave him a thumbs up for a greeting, lumbering over to the kitchen and using a paper towel to pat the sweat off her face. "Wow, she must have been working really hard today."

"Something like that," Pearl said, tucking him in tightly, but keeping her eyes locked on Peridot. Had she really been in the Sky Arena the whole time? She looked exhausted, and something like a cut seemed to scar one of her arms with black from this distance. _Maybe I pushed her too hard_ , she thought. _It_ has _only been a week..._

"Pearl! You're gonna choke me!" Steven gasped, giggling and kicking his feet to loosen the blanket that Pearl was tucking far too tight under the mattress. She flinched and pulled it out somewhat.

"Sorry about that, Steven. Do you need anything else?"

A cheeky grin spread on Steven's face. "Just my good night kiss!"

Pearl chuckled and placed her lips to Steven's forehead, stroking his curly, black hair with one hand. "Good night, Steven. Sleep tight."

"Good night, Pearl! Night, Peridot!" he called, looking toward the kitchen.

Peridot was busy chugging a glass of water. "Night, kid."

Steven giggled. "I really like her. I'm glad she's with us."

Pearl said nothing, merely tapping his shoulder affirmatively. "Get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am!" Steven rolled over, clutching Sir Bearington tight in his arms, and shut his eyes, ready to let sleep take over his body. Satisfied, Pearl descended down the stairs and approached Peridot. She looked even worse up close. Bruises stained her green skin with awkward yellowish blotches, and there were a few smaller cuts in addition to the one long one on her right arm.

"What happened to you?" Pearl asked. "You look a mess."

Peridot shrugged. "I was practicing more after you left." She walked past Pearl and towards the makeshift bed that was the couch. Pearl followed her with her gaze as she shut off the kitchen lights. Peridot sat with a heavy thud, brushing a lock of light green hair off her forehead. A twisting built in the bottom of Pearl's gut.

Pearl followed Peridot, sitting down next to her. Neither of them said anything for a few moments, staring out of the tiny window at the night sky. At last, when Steven's tiny snoring broke the silence, Pearl spoke. "I'm... Look, I'm sorry if I was too hard on you earlier. It's only been a week. I should have been more considerate."

Peridot looked at her, her cocked eyebrow barely visible in the darkness. "What are you sorry for? I needed you to push me like that. I just wasn't really getting it before, you know?"

Pearl kneaded her hands together nervously in her lap. "You shouldn't be hurting yourself like that over something I said. And how did you even get those bruises and cuts, anyway? That's dangerous. I'm not letting you practice alone again. You could have _really_ gotten hurt, you know."

Peridot rubbed her sore arms with her metal hands, looking down at the floor. "I was trying to practice wider strokes, but some of them got too wide... It's all right, though. I think I've got a good idea of exactly how far is too far now, ha..." She coughed, rubbing the back of her neck, still not looking at Pearl in the eyes. "I'm... sorry that I've been letting you down, honestly."

Pearl flinched. "You haven't been... I mean, it's... I've just been too hard on you, that's all."

"No, no, not just about that." Peridot brought one leg up on the couch and held it close to her body, clasping her fingers together. "Ever since you guys took me in, I've just... not been useful. I understand why you had to disable my weaponry, I do. I'm not complaining about that. But I'd just... I'd like to do something more. Something to help out. I wanna be _useful_. And I don't wanna hurt you or Steven or anyone else again. I'm sick of that." She rested her gem against her knee, sighing. "I'm sorry."

Pearl was silent for a few moments. Regret bubbled in the pit of her stomach. Had she made Peridot feel that way? She had been turning around nicely... "I'm not disappointed in you, Peridot," she said softly, gently. Reaching her hand out and touching Peridot's shoulder, holding it, she added, "In fact, I'm actually very proud of the progress you've made."

Peridot looked up incredulously. "Really?"

Pearl nodded. "You've been working very hard to turn your life around. I've noticed that. So has everyone else. We're lucky to have you, actually. Nobody else knows new gem tech like you." Gingerly, she ruffled the back of Peridot's hair with her fingertips. "So, who cares if you're not a genius with a sword? We still need you."

Peridot sat up straight, grinning and wiping her nose. "Thanks... That means a lot. Especially from you."

Pearl moved her hands away and held them in front of her as though to block the compliment from reaching her. "Please, I'm nobody special."

'You are though!" Peridot protested. She looked as though she was going to say more but stopped herself short. "Y-you're very important, is all. I respect you."

Pearl smiled softly. "Thank you." Satisfied, Pearl stood up. "Are you going to be all right?"

Peridot nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks."

"Well, then. I suppose I'll be seeing you at the same time tomorrow?"

A light, raspy laugh escaped Peridot's lips. "You know it."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. Well, I'll be off then. Good night, Peridot."

"G'night," Peridot said, pulling the blanket over herself, hiding her face from view. Pearl thought she heard a soft squeal just under Peridot's breath, but figured she must have just heard a mouse outside. Chuckling to herself at the thought, she turned away and stepped into her room, hoping to pass the next few hours until the two began training again. A fresh start never hurt anyone.


	3. iii battle

"I like the way she looks at you."

The remark came completely out of the blue. Pearl looked up at Garnet, confused and pausing her careful folding of Steven's laundry. "Excuse me?"

Garnet grinned, looking out the window. Steven was happily playing volleyball on the beach with Peridot and Amethyst, and Greg had come to referee the game. "You know what I mean," she said, her tone a playful sing-song.

Pearl had a vague idea but quickly dismissed it, setting the towel down and picking up one of the many pink T-shirts. "You're being ridiculous."

"I am not."

"Amethyst, stop shapeshifting!" Steven called, his voice audible through the screen door.

"Maybe she wouldn't have to shapeshift if you weren't so good!" Greg teased back.

The loud thud of the ball hitting the sand much harder than necessary made Pearl jump. She looked out the window over her shoulder. Peridot was on the other side of the net, facing the house. She was intensely focused on the game, but seemed to know immediately when Pearl was looking. She waved and smiled, mouthing something that Pearl was unable to see. Pearl waved back, her chest warm and fuzzy.

"See what I mean?" Garnet asked teasingly.

Pearl rolled her eyes. "She's a good friend and that's all. There's no need to read into it more than that."

"Pearl, you're forgetting. I see everything." Garnet knelt down next to Pearl, picking up a pair of jeans to help her with the chore. Normally, they would have had Steven do his own laundry, but it had been a particularly hard week with missions, and so they let him have the day off from his chores as long as he promised to clean the dishes the following day.

Pearl sighed, running one hand through her pale, pink hair. "Look, I really don't want to talk about this."

"That's fine. I just wanted to let you know that I think she's good for you." Garnet placed a hand on Pearl's back. "And that I think _she_ would say the same thing."

"Peridot?"

"Mm-mm." She gestured up towards the door with her other hand. "Rose."

Pearl froze at the mention of the name. Icy cold guilt filled her chest, threatening to close up her throat. "Don't... don't talk like that. Please."

"It's all right, Pearl."

"No, it _isn't!_ " Pearl replied. She stood up, her stomach in twisted knots. "You didn't know Rose like I did! How would you know what she thought of me, of this?"

"Pearl, calm down."

"I am calm!"

Garnet stood up, gripping Pearl's shoulders tightly and looking her in the eye through her thick shades. "No, you're not. You can't do this every time Rose is mentioned. This isn't healthy." When Pearl continued to shake, staring down at the floor, Garnet softened her tone and pulled Pearl in close for a hug. "I know how much you loved her, Pearl. And I'm sorry that things turned out the way they did. I loved her, too. We all did. But you have to understand that she would have wanted you to be _happy_."

"I know," Pearl replied miserably, burying her face in Garnet's chest. "It's just so hard with her gone. Everything still reminds me of her... I don't know how Greg does it."

"Ten years is a very long time for humans," Garnet said, using her left hand and rubbing small circles on Pearl's back. "And it's not much at all for us. I understand."

Pearl tugged gently on the back of Garnet's shirt with her fingers. "You... you really Rose would be okay with...?"

"I know it."

Giving her old friend one last squeeze, Pearl let go and looked up. She wiped her teary eyes and gave a weak smile. "Thanks, Garnet. I needed that."

A wide, soft smile spread across Garnet's face. "Anytime."

* * *

"Woah, guys, check this out!"

Amethyst's sudden outburst prompted the rest of the Crystal Gems to look out the small kitchen window. A loud rumble could be heard from the ocean, with rhythmic slams on the ground. The splashing of white foam broke the clean sheet of black water in the middle of the night. "What do you think that is?" Amethyst asked quietly, looking to Pearl for answers.

"I hope it's not..." Pearl started, but Garnet finished her sentence for her.

"Malachite."

Pearl looked to Garnet anxiously. "Are we ready to take her on?"

"Ready or not, we've got no choice." Garnet summoned her gauntlets, clasping the fists together tightly. "But this time, we've got something that we didn't before."

"Yeah? What's that?" Amethyst asked. A loud thud and splash made her jump. The sound nearly drowned out Garnet's cool, collected reply.

"We've got Peridot."

"Huh?" Peridot asked, speaking up and blinking confusedly. "Me? What can I do?"

"Pearl's been training you to fight, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"Then get your sword. Training's over."

Peridot bit her lip, looking at Pearl anxiously. "I'm not ready," she squeaked out, her voice a tiny rasp.

"Yes, you are." Pearl clasped Peridot's shoulder tightly. "We'll fight together." They had been practicing fighting side by side for the past few months, once Peridot had gotten a good grip on her solo skills. She wasn't perfect, but she was ready. Pearl was sure of that. And as long as she was around, nothing was going to happen to Peridot. She would make sure of that.

Peridot didn't say anything, just nodded, before running to fetch her sword from under the couch. A real one, a silver blade with a leather handle. It was just her size. Pearl had picked it out carefully and picked it up from a sketchy guy a few towns over. Greg's 'Internet' friends were useful from time to time, it seemed.

Steven hopped out of bed, nearly jumping down the stairs to meet the other gems. "I'm coming too!"

"Steven, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Amethyst said nervously. "I mean, this is _Malachite_ we're talking about. What if you get hurt?"

"I don't care! I'm gonna help! Lapis is my friend, and I might be able to get through to her! If we all work together, we can get them to unfuse! Then all we have to worry about is Jasper!"

"Lapis did try to kill us," Garnet reminded him.

"No! She won't hurt us if I'm with you." He looked sick and clutched at his gem through his shirt. "The only reason she's staying fused with Jasper is to protect me. I can't sit around and not help her when she needs me. I just can't."

Pearl looked worriedly at Steven and then at Garnet. "He has a point, but still..."

Garnet nodded. "Steven, you can come with us, but try to stay out of harm's way for as long as you can. If it looks bad, don't try to be brave. Run as far and as fast as you can."

Steven didn't look happy with that answer, but he didn't complain. "Fine."

The sound of a loud roar, inhuman and garbled, prompted the Crystal Gems to run out onto the white sand. Covered in tendrils of seaweed across her teal and turquoise body, staring down at them with bright green eyes filled with hate, Malachite stood on the beach. " _You!_ " she snarled, her mouth full of sharp teeth. Instantly, she reached one of her arms down to grab at the Crystal Gems, her fingernails filled with huge deposits of dirt and mud.

Garnet leapt up instantly, throwing punches at the exposed gem on Malachite's face. "Oh, no, you don't!" But her blows didn't make a scratch. Garnet fell back to the ground, readying another charge.

Amethyst summoned her whip and wrapped the crystal-barbed leather tight around one of Malachite's fingers. Steven stayed close by, summoning his shield.

"Hey, Zorros One and Two, you gonna get to choppin'?" Amethyst called out, pulling as hard as she could to hold Malachite's hand in one place.

Malachite cackled, her eyes fixing on Peridot. A wide, sharp-toothed grin flashed cruelly. "Peridot..." she said, her voice the low gravelly tone of Jasper's. "So _nice_ to see you again."

"I'm not here for you, clod!" Peridot shot back. "I'm with them now."

Malachite cackled, waving her arm and sending Amethyst flying. Steven caught her in a bubble, lowering her down onto the sand gently. "Is that so? I should have expected as much. You're just a puny, broken weakling. You're a leech. All you need to do is sink your teeth into someone stronger. That's how you survive, isn't it, Peridot?"

Peridot grit her teeth, gripping her handle tight. "Buzz off, freak."

"You're one to talk. Cozied up to that defective pearl, hm?" Malachite laughed, her voice like stones rattling at the bottom of a sewer.

"Enough talking!" Peridot looked at Pearl, her dark eyes blazing with rage. "Let's cut her to pieces."

Pearl nodded. "Right. Remember, keep your back to mine. No openings."

"You got it."

The two gems, each with their own swords in hand, charged at Malachite. Malachite threw one of her mighty hands down at them, but Pearl jumped up, intercepting the blow by cutting down one of the lines of the enormous palm. A thick, sticky drop of dark blue blood fell to the sand, staining it. Peridot jumped, narrowly avoiding the liquid. Her prosthetic legs made it too difficult for her to use aerial moves like her slender counterpart, so she settled for attacking one of the hands Malachite used as a foot, slicing with one deep, broad stroke at a vein.

Malachite roared angrily. "You'll pay for that!" She balled the hand Pearl had cut into a fist, raising it over her head. Pearl took the opening just under Malachite's armpit and jumped up again in a single leap, striking at the exposed skin. A few more drops of blood came out, but the skin was surprisingly thick here. Pearl tried not to let herself be caught off-guard. She landed back down on the ground and raced towards Peridot. The pair took turns slashing at one of the hand-feet, pressing their backs to each other and moving in circular motions.

"This is _way_ harder than training!" Peridot exclaimed.

"You're telling me," Pearl shot back. "You're doing fine. Stay close to me. I'm not letting her get you."

Suddenly an acrid smell filled their noses, making the two gems gag. Malachite had ducked her head down so that she was staring at them. "Aw, how cute," she growled. "It would be a shame if your dreams were to be-" She reached under her stomach, and before Peridot could react, grabbed Pearl in a tight fist. "- _Crushed!_ "

"No!" Peridot yelped, racing after Pearl. Garnet and Amethyst kept striking as hard as they could at Malachite's face and shoulders, but it seemed to be to no effect.

"Peridot, do something!" Garnet grunted, forcing herself to get tangled up in Malachite's hair so she could continuously punch the enormous gem's forehead.

Pearl squirmed, her face turning blue from the immense pressure of Malachite's fist. Her sword burst into a puff of white light, making Malachite cackle. "Just as I thought. A useless, weak, defenseless pearl!"

Peridot shook, partly from extreme terror and partly from fury. "Get your hands off of her!" she yelled, clutching her sword tight as she pointed it right at Malachite's chest.

"Or what, you'll nick me with a kitchen knife?"

Peridot didn't give her a response. Instead, she darted back under Malachite's stomach, finding the exposed, soft belly. "I _said,_ " Peridot grunted, making her stance wide and low. "Get." She stabbed Malachite just above the navel. "Your disgusting-" She began to use gravity to pull her sword towards her. "-Filthy, awful hands-" Malachite began to howl with pain, trying to feel around under her stomach for Peridot. "-Off my _girl_!"

The sword finished cutting through, and a deep, steady current of dark liquid poured out. Peridot tried to get out of its way, but it seeped through her joints and into her prosthetics. Electric jolts from mechanical malfunctions shot through Peridot's limbs, making her howl with pain. She collapsed to her hands and knees, barely able to hold herself up. Malachite growled and stumbled, dropping Pearl roughly to the sand as she pawed at her gaping wound. It wasn't exceptionally large, but Peridot had cut her deep, and blood was leaving her body at an alarming rate.

"Peridot!" Steven gasped, running over to the screeching gem. He summoned his shield and held it over her, protecting her from any more falling liquid. "Garnet, quick! Peridot's hurt!"

"There's no time!" she called back, clenching her fists tight and staring Malachite in the face.

"Hey, wait a second," Amethyst remarked, cracking her whip. "How come Malachite hasn't used the ocean to fight yet? This is all Jasper's mumbo-jumbo!"

Steven looked up, eyes pleading as he called out to Malachite. "Lapis! Lapis, it's me! Come on, Lapis, you don't have to fight anymore! It's over!"

Malachite grunted. She called back to him, her voice softer. "Steven... I... can't... let go..."

"Yes you can!" Steven shouted. "Don't you see that nothing good is going to come of this? You have to get out of there, Lapis! We can help you! Please, Lapis, just unfuse!"

Malachite shuddered and shook, her hand, foot, and stomach all bleeding. Garnet gave her a hard whack to the forehead, making her yelp in pain. "I can't... hold on..." But her eyes opened wide, flashing with rage. "Quit your whining! We can fight through this!" She shook her head, shutting her eyes again and holding her arms, as though wrapping herself in a tight hug. "No, no... I don't wanna do this anymore! Let me go!"

"Woah, is she really...?" Amethyst said, running over to Pearl. Pearl moaned but appeared to be mostly all right, leaning on Amethyst to stand.

"She's coming apart," Pearl said. "Get ready to capture them."

Peridot struggled to look up at what was happening. Lights on the inside of her visor were screaming at her to check her equipment for water damages, blinding her. She could just make out Pearl's tall, ballerina-esque figure, and the sight of Malachite bursting with blinding white light before she couldn't take it anymore, and laid her head down in the sand.

Malachite burst apart, the tiny-by-comparison forms of Lapis Lazuli and Jasper falling to the wet sand. Lapis looked ragged, clutching at a wound on her stomach, and Steven bolted toward her without a second though. "Lapis! You're hurt!"

The tiny, blue gem looked up at Steven, giving him a weak smile. "I'll be okay, Steven, don't worry about me. You should be worrying about Jasper."

"Got 'er." Garnet's voice showed that she had already gotten Jasper's hands behind her back, with Amethyst scurrying over to bind them with one of her whips. Jasper growled, staring at Lapis with hate in her yellow eyes.

"It's over, Jasper," Pearl said, squaring her shoulders and looking down on the bigger gem. "You are now a prisoner of the Crystal Gems."

"Tch, is that supposed to scare me?" Jasper spat.

"It _should_ ," Amethyst said, tightening her hold on Jasper's wrists and sinking one of the crystals into her palm, making her gasp. "'Cause if you don't cooperate with us, we won't hesitate to kick your butt so hard your mama feels it!"

"Steven, you remember what we did with Peridot," Garnet said, and Steven nodded. Without a word, he stepped towards Jasper and captured her in a huge, pink bubble. Garnet then clasped her hands around the bubble, sending her to the temple to be dealt with later.

"Speaking of Peridot," Amethyst said, tugging on Garnet's sleeve, "she doesn't look very good."

Pearl's head turned sharply, gasping at the sight. "Peridot!" She bolted over towards Peridot, picking her crumpled up form in her arms. "Peridot, are you all right?"

Peridot groaned. "Just peachy."

"Peridot, now is _really_ not the time to be fresh with me," Pearl replied worriedly.

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Sorry. Just hurts. I can't do water."

Pearl instantly untied the sash around her stomach and used it to dry Peridot off, focusing mainly on her joints. "There, is that better?" she asked after she had absorbed as much liquid as she could.

Peridot nodded, looking to be in slightly less pain. "You'll have to take them off inside and dry 'em real good though. But thanks. Hey," she added, curling her fingers around Pearl's forearm. "We did good today, right?"

Pearl nodded, absently stroking Peridot's hair. "We were fantastic."

Peridot chuckled, looking up at Pearl with wide, soft eyes. "That means a lot, coming from you."

"Likewise," Pearl said, chuckling. "Can you stand?"

"I think so," the green gem answered. Pearl guided Peridot to her feet, wrapping one of her arms around her shoulders for balance. It clearly hurt, but Peridot was at least able to walk slowly.

Steven used his healing spit on the wound on Lapis's stomach, which helped stop the bleeding and eased her pain. She looked down at him after thanking him. "I can't believe she's with you now," she commented.

"Sometimes things just work out for the better," Steven said. He watched Pearl lead Peridot back to the beach house, speaking to her so quietly that Steven couldn't hear it. He smiled. "And a lot of the time it's the stuff you don't expect to turn out well that does."

"Aren't you ever the optimist?" Lapis asked, ruffling his hair.

Steven giggled. "Isn't that the best way?"

* * *

Inside, the Crystal Gems were each helping Peridot dry out her prosthetics. Peridot hated being without them, as was evidenced by her constant commenting of, "I look like a messed up space rock."

"Well, Peridot, you _are_ a rock from space," Amethyst teased. Peridot scowled. "Hey, technically, I'm the only rock here that's _not_ from space, so don't take it so personally!"

Peridot rolled her eyes, keeping herself curled up under the blanket Pearl had tucked her in. "Whatever."

"So, how do these things work?" Steven asked, holding up one of Peridot's fingers and squeezing it.

Peridot gasped. "Don't touch that! I can feel that, y'know!"

"Woah." Steven placed it gently on the table, backing away slowly. "That's kind of weird."

"So are your weird touch-sausages, but I haven't said anything about those."

"Don't be grumpy, Peridot," Pearl said, using a dishcloth to dry the innermost joint of one of Peridot's arms. "We're almost done. You'll be in one piece again in no time."

Peridot simply grumbled, not wanting to argue with her. She curled up as best she could under the blanket, resting her cheek on the soft cushion.

Eventually, the Crystal Gems finished drying off Peridot's arms and legs. "Okay, Peridot, ready for me to take the blanket off?" Pearl asked.

Peridot looked around nervously at the other gems. "Um..."

Pearl nodded. "I think we should give her some privacy. I'll stay and help her back into these."

"Sounds good to me. Steven, why don't you and Amethyst go get Lapis settled in?" Garnet asked, walking towards the warp pad. "I'll make sure Jasper's not getting herself into any trouble."

"Good idea," Steven chirped. He tugged on Lapis's thin wrist excitedly. "Come on! You and Amethyst can be roommates!"

"It's a little messy in there, fair warning," Amethyst told Lapis as Garnet disappeared into the warp pad. The door opened, leaving a bewildered Lapis wondering as to why Steven was laughing so much as they entered Amethyst's room.

When the door closed and Pearl and Peridot were alone at last, Pearl gently tugged the pale brown blanket away from Peridot's body. Her arms and legs were awkward stubs where the joints should have been, and Peridot tried to look away. Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment. "Sorry you have to see me like this," she mumbled.

"There's nothing you should be sorry for, Peridot," Pearl said. "You were so brave today. Nothing would make me think less of you after that." She clicked one of Peridot's arms into place and Peridot's fingers zoomed off the table and back towards the magnetic pull of her metal palm.

"It's just embarrassing," Peridot said, flexing her fingers. "I just feel so... I don't know. Like there's something _wrong_ with me."

"Were you born like this?" Pearl asked, clicking a leg in place.

Peridot wiggled her ankle, twisting her foot in tiny circles to get it working. "I don't remember, honestly. I can't remember too much of myself as a gemling. It's weird."

Pearl stood and ran her thin fingers through Peridot's fluffy hair. "Well, I think you're just fine, if that makes any difference." As she walked towards the table to fetch Peridot's other arm, she heard Peridot say something softly, but couldn't catch what she said. "Sorry, what?" she asked, turning her head back towards the couch.

"I said," stammered Peridot, "that it makes a big difference to me when it comes from you."

Pearl picked up Peridot's arm and leg and attached them swiftly, smiling. "And what do you mean by that?"

Peridot bit her lip, her cheeks dark green with embarrassment. "N-nothing, don't worry about it."

Pearl chuckled. "You know, I couldn't ask for a better partner on the battlefield than you."

"S-stop it! You're just teasing me now!" Peridot covered her face with her hands, groaning and leaning back.

Pearl sat down next to Peridot, unable to keep herself from laughing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. But, you know..." She twiddled her thumbs in her lap, and Peridot watched her carefully. A lump formed in Pearl's throat. _I guess there's no better time to say it than now,_ she thought. Taking a deep breath before speaking, Pearl continued. "I have actually grown... very fond of you. And... I think I'd like to spend more time with you, to get to know you better." She looked Peridot in the eyes, feeling her stomach churning. "Is that... is that something you would want, too?"

Peridot blinked, swallowing so hard that Pearl could see the lump slide down her throat. "I've... Y-yeah, I'd... I'd love that."

Pearl chuckled softly, taking Peridot's fingers of her left hand in both of hers, wrapping around them and squeezing gently. "I'm glad to hear it."

Peridot sat motionless, her face hot, and she felt sweat forming on the back of her neck. Okay, there's no way this was happening. She must have fallen asleep when she put her head down. There was literally no way. She had to be dreaming. Testing her reality, she flexed one of her fingers, feeling the velvety softness of Pearl's warm palm. She squeaked, swallowing hard again. This... this was happening?

"You know," Pearl said, giggling, "I should have figured that you would say yes."

"Wh- Was I that obvious?" Peridot stammered.

"Well, no," Pearl replied. She looked at Peridot, a devilish smirk on her face. "But I did hear you call me your girl just about an hour ago."

"Aw, nuts, I said that _out loud?!_ " Peridot groaned and covered her face with her free hand. "Ugh, I am _such_ a clod..."

"You're adorable," Pearl said, and Peridot simply whimpered, making Pearl laugh.

They stayed like that for hours, even after Pearl put Steven to bed. Just sitting there, holding hands and talking. It wasn't much, but it was intimate contact, and for now, that was more than either of them could ever have asked for.


End file.
